Accra, Sept. 8, GNA – Mrs Zita S Okaikoi, Minister of Information, on Tuesday at a Fast Track High Court in Accra, testified for the prosecution in the case involving Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, former Minister of Information and National Orientation, his wife Zulieka Lawria, six other officials and a legal non-entity.

They are being tried for allegedly conspiring to defraud the state of GH¢86,915.85 as a result of renovation works carried out at the Ministerial Block of the Ministry during Mr Asamoah Boateng's tenure.

The other accused persons are Frank Agyekum, former Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation and Dominic Aloysius Yaw Sampong, former Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Kofi Asamoah Boateng, Chief Director of the Ministry, Kwabena Denkyira, former Director of Finance and Administration of the Ministry and Yasmine Domua and Prosper Arku of Supreme Procurement Agency Limited.

The non-legal entity firm is Supreme Procurement Agencies Limited (SPAL).

The officers are being tried for various counts of conspiracy to defraud the state, contravening the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, forgery of documents and uttering forged documents and deceit of public officer.

They have pleaded not guilt at the court presided over by Mr Justice Charles Quist, which has admitted them to bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 each with a surety each.

In her evidence in chief, Mrs Okaikoi said when was going through some files on assumption of office as a minister on June 5, she came across documents signed by Sampong requesting payment to Phlexicom Ventures for renovation works carried out at the Ministerial Block of the ministry.

The minister said she quizzed Sampong as to why he should sign a letter for the release of funds without her consent and the knowledge of the two deputy ministers at the ministry.

Mrs Okaikoi, who is also a legal practitioner, said out of her amazement over Sampong's conduct, she wrote a letter to the Ministry of Finance on June 8 halting any payment.

The minister said she also sent a memorandum to the Chief of Staff informing him about the development

At a meeting held at the ministry, she said issues concerning Phlexicom ventures came up and Sampong apologized for his conduct.

Mrs Okaikoi said Sampong told her that the renovation included the tiling of the offices of the Minster and Deputy Minister.

According to Mrs Okaikoi, Sampong said the minister in 2008 could not effect payment because, Mr Lawrence Dzakpa, the Principal Accountant of the Ministry, refused to approve the payment for the renovations works.

Mrs Okaikoi said Mr Dzakpa in his explanation stated that he (Mr Dzakpa) had two requests on his desk.

The requests, the minister said, were payment in respect of renovation work to Phlexicom Ventures and payment for three vehicles acquired from PHC Motors.

Mrs Okaikoi said Mr Dzapkpa told her that he had signed for the payment for the three vehicles from PHC but declined to pay for the renovation works because it lacked proper documents to facilitate payment.

The Minister said she asked Mr Sampong whether he had rectified and regularized the contract.

The witness said she was concerned about the payment of the GH¢86,915.85 because the Ministry had been given a ceiling of GH¢50,000 cedis for renovations under the Public Procurement Act.

Mrs Okaikoi said soon after the management meeting, she expressed her displeasure over the signing of the documents and wrote letters to the Chief of Staff with copies to the security agencies.

She said Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Deputy Minister of Information, handed over the letters to the Bureau of National Investigations for further investigations. Continued    Source: gna - Ghana News Agency